Rumor: Baron Von Strucker may be the second villain in The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Consider this a rumor and nothing more at this point, but with there being an open casting notice for THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON looking for a "physically imposing Caucasian man, aged 40-50" and the likes of Martin Csokas and Dougray Scott being looked at for roles, there seems to be a somewhat significant part still out there for the blockbuster Marvel sequel. Per usual, theories are flying and some inside sources are claiming that the part will actually be for a villain in the movie and one that is familiar to comic fans.

Sources claim that this role is actually that of Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker. Strucker was created by Stan Lee in 1964 as a HYDRA leader and nemesis to Captain America. The villain is ageless and could represent a connection for Steve Rogers to the events in THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. What also makes this intriguing is that the sources also claim that when we meet Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, they will be working for Strucker.

In the comics, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are the children of Magneto and a part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. With Disney not controlling the mutant/X-Men related characters, shifting the brother/sister duo to being bad guys working for Strucker makes sense. This will start them out as villains and shift them to heroes during the film.

My only concern with another major villain is that THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is already so packed with new characters that this could bog down the entire film. It already feels like the movie will have to run 4 hours just to fit what we have heard so far. On the other hand, maybe Strucker will be a minor way to introduce Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Being a Captain America enemy, they can always bring him back for the third movie in that franchise.